Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 0.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shot up 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $19.02 and last traded at $18.96. 2,498,615 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 16,494,176 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ET. Barclays increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $65.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.33.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.84%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $756,840,000 after buying an additional 5,254,721 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 23,987,750 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $469,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,683 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,776,221 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $387,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,381 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Energy Transfer by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,331,220 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $319,929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,512,060 shares during the period. Finally, Chickasaw Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,738,594 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $308,319,000 after purchasing an additional 388,073 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer LP provides energy-related services. The company owns and operates natural gas transportation pipeline, and natural gas storage facilities in Texas and Oklahoma; and approximately 20,090 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline. It also sells natural gas to electric utilities, independent power plants, local distribution and other marketing companies, and industrial end-users.